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Building Parent-Provider Shared Leadership to Improve Systems Serving Vulnerable Families
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| Presenter(s):
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| Arlene Andrews,
University of South Carolina,
arlene.andrews@sc.edu
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| Lisa Pion Berlin,
National Center for Shared Leadership Inc,
lpion-berlin@parentsanonymous.org
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| Margaret Polinsky,
Parents Anonymous Inc,
ppolinsky@parentsanonymous.org
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| Abstract:
Shared Leadership in Action (SLA) was developed by Parents Anonymous® Inc., an international organization that helps vulnerable parents prevent child abuse through parental mutual support and parent-professional partnerships. Many parent leadership programs assume that if parents lead appropriately, service providers and systems will respond effectively. The SLA program aims to increase the probability of systems change by transforming the consumer-provider relationship. The SLA program involves joint parent leader-professional training followed by mentoring as the partners plan and enact reforms in community child and family service systems. This presentation will focus on the Shared Leadership Research Team. Using community-based participative research, parents, staff, and academicians participate in design and conduct of evaluation studies related to shared leadership. This presentation will review preliminary lessons learned about factors that facilitate and inhibit shared leadership in evaluation. Outcomes include factors related to parent empowerment, staff empowerment, partnership effectiveness, and targets of change.
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Evaluation Policy and Planning within Nonprofits: A View from the Field
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| Presenter(s):
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| Kimberly A Fredericks,
Indiana State University,
kfredericks@indstate.edu
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| Joanne Carman,
University of North Carolina Charlotte,
jgcarman@uncc.edu
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| Abstract:
In this paper, we explore how evaluation policy is formed within nonprofit organizations and by whom. The paper is based upon interview and self-assessment data gathered from 30 nonprofit organizations. The paper has four sections. First, we begin with a discussion about the important role that nonprofit organizations play in our society and the distinguishing characteristics that make them different from other organizations. Second, we describe four types of evaluation policies: 1) evaluation policies that are based upon the managing the requests and expectations from funders (i.e., government, the United Way, and foundations); 2) evaluation policies developed in tandem with strategic planning, which are integral to the nonprofit organization’s managerial processes and structures; 3) evaluation policies are formed as result of uncertainty in the funding environment; and 4) evaluation policies that are not well-developed. The paper concludes with recommendations connecting organizational theories to explain these practices.
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